Nicki Sprinz

We're delighted to be able to announce that Skype in the workspace – the new platform for small businesses and entrepreneurs – is opening its doors to the public.

The free-to-use service makes use of the huge network already offered by Skype, allowing millions of small businesses to promote their products and services to new networks and connections. Members can improve existing connections and establish new ones by instantly sending messages and talking to or meeting face-to-face with peers and business prospects over Skype.

Ural Cebeci, Head of SMB Marketing at Skype, said:

It's been a really exciting year: working with Made by Many to develop the idea for the service; speaking with customers to understand their needs; iterating the platform based on their feedback; and finally, today, launching Skype in the workspace to the public. We hope you find it as exciting and useful as we do.

Yesterday, I was one of four speakers (alongside Google, the Guardian and Canongate books) at a great Arts Council-funded event for publishers and librarians. Each of us highlighted a digital tool or platform that the audience could leverage to improve, or simplify, their programme of work. We're always happy to talk about Skype in the classroom–primarily, because it really is a game-changing platform that inspires educators and their students from around the world.

We love working on Skype in the classroom and we're always looking for ways to enhance the service for our users. Recently, we released functionality that enabled teachers to login with their Facebook or Twitter credentials, as well as their Skype ID, but sometimes the challenge isn't about new functionality, but raising awareness and simply telling the story of Skype in the classroom.

For the last few months, we've been working with Skype to create a new service proposition for small businesses. Today, we're launching in private beta. If you’re an entrepreneur, or working in a small business that’s looking to grow, Skype in the workspace is a place to meet potential partners, suppliers, or customers anywhere in the world. You can promote your service, send messages, talk, or meet face-to-face over Skype. And it's free.

I recently spoke at a SheSays event about where good ideas come from. If you've not made it along to a SheSays talk, pop along---men are also welcome. And they're not limited to London; events are now happening in Scotland too.

The rest of this post, is the gist of what I talked about, inspired by working with The Many.

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What a huge question. One I can't begin to answer without a little research.

We all know they're the holy grail of advertising. And, those in the industry are all searching for that engaging, radiating and ambitious idea, and potentially its accompanying rapturous applause.

Secure in the belief that some of the women I've either enjoyed working with, or talking to, might know where good ideas come from, I thought I'd start by sharing their secrets: